On 16 January 1943, the SS Schenectady returned from her sea trials to Portland, Oregon, when she violently cracked in half while moored to the dock. The crack was so sudden and so loud, it was heard from almost a mile away. The construction of the Schenectady had started six months prior as part of the industrial buildup to provide transport ships for World War II, one of 2,710 Liberty ships built in a four-year period during the war.
What caused a brand-new ship to catastrophically fail in calm weather while stationary and what does that event have to do with leadership? The culprit of the mishap was brittle fracture which occurs when metal breaks without any appreciable deformation. The metal snaps without warning, just as the Schenectady did nearly 80 years ago. Brittle fractures are materials with low-fracture toughness, preexisting flaws, and under stress. The conditions that cause brittle fracture can be a useful model for leaders to help them recognize not only in themselves, but also those they lead when confronted with various challenges.
Toughness
When thinking about steel, the primary material used to build the Schenectady, weakness is not the first thing that comes to mind. There is a reason steel is used by the shipping industry—because of its strength and resiliency in any condition. But the properties of steel are not fixed. The strength of steel can change with time and temperature. Exposure to the elements or corrosion can reduce the fracture toughness of steel. As temperature increases, steel becomes less brittle. Once the material is above a certain temperature, the steel is impervious to brittle fracture but can still fail due to fatigue.
Just like steel, an individual’s level of toughness can change over time. Past experiences, both good and bad, can affect the level of toughness. Some people have a natural instinct for toughness, mentally and or physically. For others, it is a skill they practice and nurture. By learning from past events, a person can increase toughness. Conversely, an individual’s toughness decreases if they let a past mistake drive their actions or decisions because it dominates and clouds their thinking.
Flaws
A flaw is just a crack. It could be a visible crack, but most of the time, flaws are cracks undetectable to the naked eye. The crack could have been created during processing, or it could occur later during the service of the material. Bending a material repeatedly, also known as cycling, can cause cracks. Cycling can even result in failure with many small but repeated variations or a single large bend. This is apparent to anyone who has ever unfolded a paperclip and broke it in half. The paperclip will snap in two with one good solid bend, or a couple smaller back and forth iterations.
If a material can bend a large amount, or repeatedly without damage, it is flexible. Flexibility is the opposite of brittleness and can be useful. Similarly, it is useful for an individual, especially emotional flexibility as a leader. Passion and emotions are good, but they also can create “cracks” in an individual’s “foundation” or exacerbate their preexisting cracks. Life as a leader can involve emotional highs and lows, sometimes within a short time frame, creating more stress. Failure to control the magnitude of emotional variations, individuals will suffer the same fate as the paper clip. Instead, damping the highs and lows may allow a person to sustain for a longer time, but still can introduce enough of a crack for brittle fracture to be a concern.
Stress
Stress is the final component required for brittle fracture. The danger of brittle fracture is the lack of known or measurable amount of stress required before failure. It happens suddenly, unexpectedly, and, most likely, catastrophically. Engineers mitigate brittle fracture by operating at temperatures in which the material is no longer brittle (i.e., changes the fracture toughness.) However, material can still fail because of fatigue caused by stress. Stress is the common factor in either case. But where a material’s brittle fracture can be mitigated by temperature, the same cannot be said for a person’s brittle fracture.
This is not a surprising revelation. Everyone experiences stress, and people experience it in different ways. For one person, a stress event can increase their toughness and teach them something about themselves. The same event could break another person or cause them to give up.
Brittle Fracture and Leadership
Prevention of brittle fracture requires a removal of one of the three requirements; low fracture toughness, a flaw (or crack), or stress. Leaders and individuals can do this by working on their mental, physical, and spiritual health and well-being. Understanding oneself can improve internal fracture toughness or repair cracks. It also can help early recognition of the beginnings of a crack or a reduction in fracture toughness. Conversely, leaders should remove individuals from stress causing situations to protect them if they suspect that a brittle fracture is imminent.
My appreciation for emotional flexibility and brittle fracture occurred while I was commanding officer of a Super Hornet squadron on deployment in the western Pacific. Even though I had 16 years of experience flying the Super Hornet, none of the operational squadrons I had served with had ever lost an aircraft. Heading into command, my lack of experience with mishaps was a self-identified weakness in my fracture toughness.
On returning from a flight, I was filling out post-flight paperwork when our ready room received a phone call regarding lost communications with one of our aircraft. As I had rehearsed a number of times in my head, I did not overreact to the information and exited quietly from the ready room to determine what was happening. As more information rolled in over the next 20 minutes it became apparent we had lost one of our aircraft and the fate of the two aircrew was unknown.
The following half-hour was the most agonizing 30 minutes of my career. As I walked back to the ready room to inform the squadron and set the mishap plan in action, I was in tears. With the fate of my two junior officers still unknown, I collected myself prior to opening the door, and with a mentality I had again prepared myself for, I got the squadron moving to deal with the mishap.
Soon after initiating the mishap plan, we gained communication with our aircrew confirming they were both alive and safe in their life rafts. The search-and-rescue helicopter was already on its way and soon pulled them out of water. I was waiting on the flight deck when both aircrew walked off the helicopter relatively unscathed. With emotions running high, I gave them both a huge hug, which was, conversely, one of best moments of my entire career.
I experienced an enormous low and enormous high within a short period. I was the paperclip being bent rapidly and to the extreme.
The next several hours were a blur as I moved around the aircraft carrier talking to the squadron while periodically stopping by medical to check on the condition of the two aircrew. As the adrenaline rush of the ejection wore off, the magnitude of stress and reality of the situation became more apparent to both of them. Simultaneously, I felt my own stress level increase as I was trying to understand the emotions I started to recognize.
I had a low-fracture toughness for a mishap. I had cracks developing from the emotional swings I had undergone and the stress level of the event continued to increase. Reaching my own brittle fracture was impending.
Just as I was concerned and kept an eye on our flight crew, I was fortunate a flight surgeon was concerned and kept an eye on me. After the mishap, he pulled me aside in medical and sat me down for a couple of minutes to give myself a pause. He did not know what my brittle fracture limit was—no one can know it ahead of time—but he did know me well enough to recognize that I was exceeding a level of stress to be operational in the situation. And for that I am thankful to Doc Stuhlo.
By pulling me into his office, Doc prevented me from reaching my point of brittle fracture. We talked about what had happened, and other lesser topics. Having a couple minutes to sit down and breathe, allowed my stress level to lower and self-assess my fracture toughness and internal cracks. I was able to step away from the event for a moment and process what I needed to do.
Viewing emotional stress through the lens of brittle fracture can be a useful model. Humans may be made of flesh and bone, but our toughness and ability to handle stress is an internal, immeasurable item. Leaders must understand that about themselves and those for whom they are responsible to prevent situations that may lead to emotional brittle fracture.
Brittle fracture is not the end of the line. The Schenectady, as well as several other Liberty ships that suffered a brittle-fracture failure, was repaired, and she served admirably as an oiler for the remainder of World War II. But their mission was delayed and took monumental effort to repair. Better to prevent brittle fracture from occurring to be ready for the task at hand.
